WEBVTT
TALIE TELLS US HOW THEY ARE
COPING WITH THIS TRAGEDY.
>> THEY DON'T THINK ABOUT THE
TRIGGER THEY PULLED, THE
FAMILIES THAT THEY PUT THROUGH
THIS.
NATALIE: EMOTIONS WERE THREAT --
FRESH LESSON 24 HOURS AFTER NEW
ORLEANS NATIVE, 25-YEAR-OLD
DEMONTRIS TOLIVER, WAS SHOT AND
KILLED DURING A SHOOTOUT ON
BOURBON STREET SUNDAY MORNING.
>> WE WEREN'T EXPECTING THIS.
WE DEFINITELY WEREN'T EXPECTING
THIS.
NOT HIM.
NATALIE: FAMILY AND FRIENDS
GATHERED ON THE CORNER OF
BOURBON AND IBERVILLE, TO
ILLUMINATE THE SCENE IN
CANDLELIGHT, WHERE POLICE SAY 9
OTHER VICTIMS WERE INJURED.
AUTHORITIES BELIEVE NONE OF THE
10 PEOPLE INCLUDING DEMONTRIS
TOLIVER, WERE INTENDED TARGETS
>> FOR A DEATH THAT WASN'T EVEN
MEANT FOR HIM.
THE BULLET WASN'T MEANT FOR HIM.
HE JUST TURNED ON BOURBON.
NATALIE: HIS BROTHER, JOSHUA
DAVIS SAYS DEMONTRIS HAD JUST
ARRIVED IN NEW ORLEANS AT
-- 3:00 SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
MY LAST COUNT RESCISSION WITH
HIM, I WAS AT THE CLUB.
HE CALLE ME, I ASKED WHERE YOU
AT.
HE SAID HE WAS ON HIS WAY.
NATALIE: HE SAID HE WAITED BUT
HE NEVER SHOWED.
HE WILL CHERISH THE MEMORY OF
HIS BROTHER BY THE INC. ON HIS
CHEST.
HE DID EVERYTHING, HE DANCED,
HE'S SAYING, DID TATTOOS.
>> ALL HE LOVED TO DO WAS DROP.
IN INNOCENT DUDE.
HE DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG TO
ANYBODY.
MY BROTHER ONLY HAD TWO FIGHTS
AND HIS WIFE, IF THAT.
NATALIE: AS THE REST OF HIS
FAMILY AND FRIENDS GRIEVE THE
LOSS OF HIM, THEY WILL ALWAYS
REMEMBER HIM AS A GENEROUS MAN
WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS ART.
>> YOU COME VISIT THE FAMILY FOR
THANKSGIVING, BAYOU CLASSIC.
AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE HOME.
I CAN'T BE HOME IN A WAR ZON
YOU CAN'T DO THAT.
PEOPLE DIE EVERY DAY.
I LOST A BROTHER FOR NOTHING.
WE LOST A BROTHER FOR NOTHING.
NATALIE: HIS BROTHER HAD BEEN
ENGAGED TO HIS FIANCEE FOR TWO
YEARS.
THE TWO DREAMED OF GETTING
MARRIED ON AN ISLAND.
OFFICIALS SAY THE ARE WORKING ON
LEADS FOR TWO POSSIBLE SUSPECTS

Family and friends of Demontis Toliver gathered for a candlelight vigil on the corner of Bourbon and Iberville streets.

Toliver, a 25-year-old Baton Rouge tattoo artist, was shot in the chest and in the shoulder early Sunday morning. He died at a hospital.

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Emotions were fresh less than 24 hours after Toliver, a New Orleans native, was shot during a shootout on Bourbon Street.

"They don't think about the trigger, they pull. They don't think about what they've put families through. They don't think about nothing," relative Mezelle Gage said.

Family and friends gathered on the corner of Bourbon and Iberville to illuminate the scene in candlelight. New Orleans police said nine other victims, seven men and two women, were injured. Authorities believe none of the 10 victims, including Toliver, were intended targets, but simply innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.

"Now we're expected to mourn for a death that wasn't even meant for him. The bullet wasn't meant for him. He just turned on Bourbon," Toliver's brother, Denzel Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he had spoken to Toliver earlier in the day and was expecting him to come over to his house in Gretna to visit with relatives.

Davis said Toliver had just celebrated his 25th birthday last week. Davis said Toliver had arrived in New Orleans around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon and was staying at a hotel on Canal Street.

"My last conversation with him, I was at the club. I was at Bourbon Heat. He called me and said 'Where you at?' and I said, 'I'm at Bourbon Heat,' and he said 'I'm on my way,'" Davis said.

Davis said he waited, but Toliver never showed. Davis said he'll cherish the memory of his brother by the tattoos Toliver drew on his arms and chest.

"He did all this for me. He did everything. He danced, he sang, did tattoos. He was an amazing artist," Davis said.

"All he loved to do was draw. Innocent dude. Tattoo artist. He didn't do anything wrong to nobody. I don't think my brother even had what, two fights in his life? If that," Mitchell said.

"You come visit the family for Thanksgiving -- Bayou Classic -- and this is supposed to be home. I can't be home in a war zone. You can't do that. People die here every day. I lost a brother for nothing. We lost a brother for nothing," Mitchell continued.

As the rest of Toliver's family and friends grieve his tragic death, they said they'll always remember him as a generous man who was passionate about his art.

Toliver went O. Perry Walker College and Career Preparatory High School and Delgado Community College. He was working as a tattoo artist at Effum Underground in Baton Rouge.

Davis said Toliver had been engaged to his fiance for two years, and said the two had always dreamed of getting married on an island.

New Orleans police said they are working on leads for two possible suspects they believe could be responsible for the shootings.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

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